Can’t reach online money goal? Stop getting mad at the wrong people
I received a nice comment on a post about my mission to make enough money online to retire from commuter life within a year.
My friend, Diana Leotta, who is a fantastic writer in the health/sobriety space, remarked the following:
“Thanks for sharing your plan, James. You will achieve your dream with a dedicated routine. I love how you’re sure to always carve out family time.”
I always make time for my family and I’m happy to do it, but I’ll admit something pretty embarrassing here: I’ve had more negative thoughts than I’d like to admit in this area.
It’s not that I don’t adore my family.
My wife and kids are everything to me.
But if you’re of an entrepreneurial spirit like I am and have an ADHD brain that wants to do what it wants to do when it wants to do it, it can sometimes mischaracterize others as “being in the way” at times.
“What could I do if I had more time? If I didn’t have to go to these activities all the time? If I didn’t have to make that phone call?
“Who could I be? What could I achieve?”
If only, if only, if only.
Maybe you’ve briefly had thoughts like this too … moments of frustration when you want to get something done to achieve your goals and dreams but someone needs your time more.
It’s pretty dark when you think about it.
“What if the people I love and who love and care about me the most were around less? Then I could REALLY get things done!”
Saddest of all is that, ultimately, it’s a total cop-out.
If you’re not where you are in life, if you “don’t have time” for something you want to do, you only have one person to blame.
Check yourself before you wreck yourself
Yes, if you’re mad at your job for making you commute or mad at people in your life for needing your time — and thus preventing you from becoming the person you really want to be — just stop.
Then go into the bathroom, turn the light on, and take a long look in the mirror.
That’s the only person preventing you from becoming the person you can be. It’s the only person whose lifetime of decisions led to you where you are now.
Everything else is just an excuse.
That’s right. It’s not your “circumstances”. It’s not your wife, or your parents, or your kids, or your a**hole boss.
It’s you.
And besides, as I told Diana, “Without family, what would be the point, right?”
Manage your time or life will manage you
I recently wrote a piece called “Why the first 3 hours of your day hold the key to your entire happiness.”
I’d urge you to check it out if you ever find you “don’t have time” for things, but the main gist was this:
I have a lot on my plate, and I’m sure you do too.
I’m a father of two active boys, I’m a husband, I’m a hockey coach, I work a full-time job, and I run a side business that requires constant attention.
I’m sure I’m forgetting something.
Lately, more than ever, it feels like there aren’t enough hours in the day.
(*whispers*) But there are.
When I’m feeling this way, just completely down and frazzled, I know that I’ve structured my hours poorly and I’m paying the price.
Trust me when I say this: if you can carve out 2–3 hours for yourself at the start of the day, it will change your life.
That’s because, when you take that time to do the things that are most important to you, you can tackle the rest of your day in a relaxed manner and allow it to flow (rather than fighting against it).
Take it from me: if you don’t find the time to do what you WANT to do, you’ll inevitably resent what you HAVE to do.
I want my time with my family to be special. I want to be present.
I don’t want my mind wandering to things I should be doing.
That’s why I dedicate time to those things before I even say good morning to my kids.
Have a bigger purpose
The truth is, I want to make insane money online for a lot more people than me.
I want my kids to never have to miss an opportunity because I “don’t have the money.”
I want to take my wife on nice vacations more than I can, and I don’t want to have to ask a boss if this or that date is OK.
I want my pensioner parents to have a better retirement.
I see their happiness as the end goal now, not an obstacle to getting there.
And if you want to achieve true peace and happiness on your money-making journey, you should take the same approach.
Publish Every Day project update: Day 18
I’m doing an experiment to see if I can make enough money to leave commuter life behind within 1 year by publishing every day on multiple platforms and buying income-generating investments with my earnings.
How much I need to retire: $250 CAD per day
What I earned on Day 18: $50.20 (writing) + $1.88 (YouTube) + $2.19 (dividends) = $54.27 total
Progress charts:
What I published yesterday:
This post about actress January Jones quitting alcohol at a key time in her life
A post about why I’m writing like crazy now to make big bank later
My trending stories:
3 super healthy habits that keep Victoria Beckham fit as hell at 49
Mark Cuban perfectly explained why most people are depressed at work
1 strong new sign I saw this weekend that society is shunning alcohol
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